I’ve had this list of requirements for successful web projects growing as a text file for a while. After car-ride conversation, it dawned on me the need for a simple scoring rubric when trying to evaluate ideas. Say you have a list of a dozen startup concepts and you need to pick a winner, or even just toss a few out… you certainly don’t want to just rely on your gut (though that’s part of it.)
I’m suggesting a rubric for scoring, not necessarily a checklist. This enables a group of people to quantitatively collaborate on a decision. It’s about getting a balanced feasibility score, actionable output, a more refined crap detector… even when it hurts to let go a notion.
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Full disclosure, I’m pretty much dismissing out-of-hand any ideas that require years and years of a free, no-revenue service to achieve the business model. I would never expect profit in month one, or maybe not even year one, but some income within like 6 months.
I’d recommend using a 1-5 scale for each. These are not in order.
- Network Effects (“bootstrapping problem”) - How limited is this project by the need for participants to create/maintain it’s value?
- SCORING: higher number = works with one user
- Bankable - How much would people be willing to pay for it? (at some level.) Is it the type of thing people would feel comfortable paying for. Would you pay for it? Would your current boss pay for it?
- SCORING: higher number = worth a ton
- Behavior Change - How much do people need to change their behavior to take advantage or it? Super secret bonus concept: Can people use it without knowing it exists?
- SCORING: higher number = little change necessary
- User Interest - Does it improve people’s lives and provide value enough for them to care ongoing? …or not cancel the subscription fee… or keep coming back, etc. Is this a tool and not a technology toy for yourself?
- SCORING: higher number = everyone will rave
- Competitive Advantage - How much are you going to be mired by competition and comparisons? Are cheaper or more expensive alternatives going to be a favorable solution to people?
- SCORING: higher number = total pioneer with the ultimate price point
- Something You Love - Is there enough passionate interest for you to work late? What’s your gut reaction to the project? Can you create a job you’ll love as a result of the success (you’ll probably have to work at this company you’re making.) Will you be able to find other people who will love to work on this?
- SCORING: higher number = this is your life’s work
- Iterative - How capable is the product of being created progressively overtime, while already being useful at each step of the way? Will people see the continual improvement as added features or just the whole thing as not complete? Can you build the portion worth paying for within a reasonable time frame?
- SCORING: higher number = Perfect for ongoing releases
One issue is that this is both a judge of difficulty as well as feasibility. Not sure how to separate those things. Tough does not mean bad, and vice versa. Help with that thought?
I hope this helps you make a super smart decision on your next project.
